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Raisa & Maruli: Growing together as artists in debut film project
Two singers who initially wanted to collaborate on a musical eventually found themselves working together as co-stars in a feature film
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wo singers who initially wanted to collaborate on a musical eventually found themselves working together as co-stars in a feature film. And they had a blast.
When working together on the new movie Terjebak Nostalgia (Trapped in Nostalgia), singers Raisa and Maruli Tampubolon had to step out of their comfort zones and explore new artistic forms ' something that eventually made them grow as artists.
Raisa found the experience of shooting a film a lot of fun, something that she was previously afraid of doing.
'But after the production crew convinced me that acting was something that could be learned and it was simply another art form, I decided to give it a go,' the 25-year-old Raisa said during an interview at The Jakarta Post.
The film, the title of which is based on one of Raisa's hit songs, tells the story of two lovers ' Raisa (Raisa) and Sora (Maruli).
In the film ' directed by Rako Prijanto and started being screened on Friday at the Usmar Ismail film center in South Jakarta ' Sora leaves Raisa for New York and he never returns to Jakarta. Raisa's best friend, Reza (Chicco Jerikho), then accompanies her to New York on a trip that will either trap her or set her free from nostalgia.
Raisa said she and Maruli became confident acting for the film after learning that they would be accompanied and tutored by some of Indonesia's best actors, such as 2014 Indonesian Film Festival (FFI) winners Yayu Unru and Chicco.
'We were surrounded by champions. I, along with Maruli, took an acting class under Mas Yayu's mentorship for three months. It was both intense and fun because he always pushed us beyond our boundaries,' Raisa said.
Maruli said he learned the importance of truly immersing into a character from Yayu.
'For him [Yayu], once you get a character, you have to do your best to make it believable,' Maruli said. 'Yayu also shared a lot of his own acting methods to help us.'
As for Chicco, Raisa and Maruli praised his leadership and down to earth approach in keeping the three of them, as the film's main cast, together and cooperative throughout the shooting and production process.
'He [Chicco] set up a Whatsapp Group for everyone involved so we were not only talking about work but also our lives. We built up a chemistry in and outside the script so when the time came for us to execute, it all became natural,' Maruli said.
They found that guidance from veteran actors was important because their characters in the film were very different than their real life personalities.
Raisa said Maruli's character in the film was calm, romantic, deep and mysterious, yet in real life, Maruli was actually very hyperactive and someone who could not sit still.
'As for my character, I could relate a little bit because she is very feminine but her logical mind and her decision-making process is definitely very different from mine,' said Raisa, who launched her professional singing career as a guest performer at a David Foster concert in 2008.
The film also helped make the two singers best friends and they did not hesitate to praise each other's professionalism during their stint together on the film.
Raisa praised Maruli's hard work and seriousness throughout the production process. 'His script was full of small notes and he never failed to bring them to the scene. He was such a role model,' she said.
Maruli, who has a bit of acting experience through roles in a musical drama and the Patriot television miniseries, was impressed with Raisa's natural acting talent, despite the fact the film was her first acting job.
'She can personify herself into the character and then amplify with the direction of the director. That's how adaptive she is in terms of acting,' Maruli said.
Despite their fun experience together, Raisa and Maruli said they had no plan to let go their music careers and switch fully to acting.
'I mean, we are singers. We see our future in music,' said Raisa, who has released two albums. Her third is set to be released in May.
Maruli said he still loved his singing life although he also admitted that he had a great deal of fun during the film's production process.
'As a singer, I can get impulsive reactions directly from the crowd. Making a film can also be time consuming while in music, we can be as productive as we can,' he said.
The film will not be the final collaboration between the two singers.
'In the future, we will collaborate on many things. It could be music, it could be film, or it could be something else. I don't know what the future holds,' Maruli said.
